The power of music is immeasurable, but I try to grab pieces of it and explain how they affect me.

Friday, March 6, 2015

2015 Week 9: The Allison Reynolds Affair

She should not have gotten the stupid makeover at the end.

There are certain voices that just get me. I'm always disappointed when people judge a singer's ability solely on acrobatics or some other straightforward measure. You hear people talk about how great Celine Dion is sometimes and it's just amazing to me that anyone would think that of someone so bland. Like what you like, but that is no measuring stick. To me, imperfection is usually the best indicator of a great singer. A voice that cracks at the right time is the paradoxical definition of perfection. This week, Brandi Carlile's new album, The Fire Watcher's Daughter, came out. I'm not sure I like all of the album and I'm not even sure I like her entire catalog until now, even though there are many songs I do love. But what I do love and can't get enough of is her voice. Even on songs I'm not crazy about, I just stop and listen and I'm in a moment, usually one of introspection and emotional nakedness that comes through in her countrified crack. I can't put my finger on it, at all, but there's power and vulnerability, and above all, humanity in it. She's on the top of my list of people I want to see in concert, I just hope I get the chance to do so in a smaller venue. She's kind of a big deal.

So this week's playlist is a little strange, but kind of relates to how I feel about Brandi's voice. It started off, randomly enough, as some odd cry for help. I build these things randomly throughout the week, but day by day, I start to feel a theme coming on, and might add some songs intentionally. By the end of the week I have some idea of something so I go through and reorganize it according to flow and "story." So this week, let's call it The Allison Reynolds Affair. It's a kind of ode to that mysterious, kinda dark, outcast girl some of us always seemed to be attracted to growing up. The rebel, the loner, the one who didn't give a fuck about "normal." But she's not the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She's dangerous, often beyond the regular rebelliousness and into actual evil doings, but all that aside, we just couldn't help ourselves. Anyway, I kinda married one of those, so there you have it. This is not a squishy playlist and it's certainly not a literal story at all. It's about the atmosphere of the songs more than anything else. Listen and share.